The Pirates of Dark Water is an American fantasy animated television series created by David Kirschner and produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series premiered as a five-part miniseries on Fox Kids early 1991, simply entitled Dark Water. The first season, consisting of 13 episodes including the original five-part miniseries, aired on ABC from September to December 1991. A second season, consisting of just eight episodes, aired in syndication in the United States from 1992 to 1993.[1]
Ren, the son of the dying King Primus of Octopon, sails around the alien world of Mer on a ship called the Wraith, searching for the "Thirteen Treasures of Rule". The treasures are prophesied to save Octopon and Mer from the threat of Dark Water, an all-consuming black liquid that has taken over the seas. His loyal crew of misfits that help Ren on his journey are the ecomancer Tula, a monkey-bird Niddler, and the treasure-hungry pirate Ioz. Ren's opponent in his quest is the pirate Bloth of the warship the Maelstrom, who will stop at nothing to get the treasures and control the Dark Water himself.[2]
Mer is a planet very different from Earth with a variety of its own creatures with varying degrees of intelligence, such as the monkey-bird and the leviathans. The world has twenty seas, and most of the crew's stops are made at islands. Parts of Mer are continually in flux, like a river of spiked rocks that rises out of the ocean in the first episode and appears to defy physics (none of the characters are bewildered by the spectacle aside from its danger), but whether this is the Dark Water's doing or just the nature of the geologically hyperactive planet is unknown.[4]
Octopon was once the greatest city on Mer, referred to as "the jewel in the crown of Mer" by Ioz in episode 14, though lying in ruins until Ren collects the first seven treasures and it is partially restored. Octopon seems to have been centuries ahead of the current technological state of Mer, although it is probable that civilization is continually in decline due to the Dark Water oozing from the planet's core.[4]
ABC reaired the miniseries from September 14,[5] to October 12, 1991, before premiering new episodes.
David Kirschner, the president and chief executive officer of Hanna-Barbera, created the series based on an idea he had when he was a child, inspired by "the works of Robert Louis Stevenson and the pictures of Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth". The original five-episode miniseries was "the most expensive animated project" Hanna-Barbera had taken on up to that time, with each half-hour episode costing US$500,000. Each half-hour episode consisted of 12,000 cels, double the number "of a typical Saturday morning cartoon series".[2]
The show first premiered on Fox Kids in early 1991 as a five-part mini-series titled Dark Water. Following a number of animation tweaks and other changes by Hanna-Barbera, those episodes were rebroadcast later in 1991 as the first five episodes of the regular series.[6] Notably, the original mini-series featured the voice of Roddy McDowall as Niddler, whereas in the revised version, the character was voiced by Frank Welker.
The first season, consisting of 13 episodes, aired on ABC. The second season, consisting of the last 8 episodes, aired in first-run syndication as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.[1] The series was never completed, ending abruptly after 21 episodes with only eight of the thirteen treasures collected.[7]
The complete series was released on DVD on August 31, 2010.[8][9]
The Pirates of Dark Water was reviewed favorably in The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide, which contrasted it with other cartoons from the same period, noting that it was "...serious, well-written, and had a certain amount of craft in its character animation and watercolor backgrounds."[10] Collider called it one of the 14 greatest kids cartoons of the 1990s as well as a property worthy of resurrection.[11][12] Screen Rant said the show "has a robust cult following to this day and was one of the best adventure shows of its era, with surprisingly strong writing and a beautifully designed world."[13]
In November 1991, Marvel Comics produced a comic book series based on the show. Originally intended as a six-part limited series, it was extended to nine issues to include a three-part original story. A series of action figures based on the characters from the show was also produced. The toyline consisted of Ren, Niddler, Ioz, Zoolie, Bloth, Konk, Mantus, Joat, and the Wraith.[citation needed]
Pirates of Dark Water video games were released for the Super NES and Sega Genesis platforms, both published by Sunsoft. The Super NES version is a side-scrolling beat 'em up, co-developed by Japanese and American staff members, where players can choose to play as Ren, Tula or Ioz and proceed to fight Bloth's gang. Up to two players can play simultaneously. Each character has a life-draining Desperation Attack (spinning kick for Ren, ecomancer energy for Tula, and spinning punch for Ioz) and the ability to block – something not common in games of this genre. The Genesis version, developed by Team Iguana (later known as Acclaim Studios Austin), is a side scrolling platform game with role-playing elements. A Pirates of Dark Water role-playing game was released in 1994 but had a limited production run.[citation needed]
Niddler was parodied in 1993's Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen, as Nibbler the Monkeydog, who loved Monga Melons.[14]
The show was parodied in one of a series of early interstitials on Cartoon Network. These commercials featured a "viewer's" question and Cartoon Network's comical take on the "answer". In Pirates' case, it was on the "unaired episodes". Cartoon Network claimed to have the episodes on tape and promised to air them, instead showing footage of a cat lapping milk, suggesting that someone taped over the only copy of what would have been the nonexistent episodes.
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